It shook the nation and the world when a 18 year old was so distraught after finding out his room mate had filmed him having sexual relations with another man and streamed it to the internet, that the threw himself off a bridge.
It was the latest in a spate of gay teen suicides all over America, after bullying, torment and a culture of discrimination and homophobia that spill down from the highest level.
Now, hate crime charges have been laid in the US against the room mate Ravi, who is accused of setting up a webcam to capture 18-year-old Tyler Clementi's (on the left in the picture above) same-sex encounter before using Twitter to "dare" others to watch the footage online.
It was shortly after that incident, that the young and promising violinist, Clementi took his own life. Although, it’s been noted from a gay online forum that Clementi had suffered homophobic and discrimination from his room mate before the incident.
The bright student had just started at Rutgers University in New Jersey, his death kick-started a national conversation in the US over homophobic bullying, even President Barack Obama was amongst those speaking out on behalf of gay students.
Ravi faces charges of invasion of privacy and bias intimidation, a hate crime. He is also accused of tampering with evidence in a bid to cover his tracks. A 15-count indictment sheet released by prosecutors makes no mention of Mr Clementi's action. But it accuses Ravi of picking on the 18-year-old because of his sexual orientation. Prosecutors allege that the defendant tried to broadcast the same-sex encounter of his room-mate and another man in an attempt to intimidate the gay teenager.
It is claimed that Ravi used a second computer belonging to fellow student, Molly Wei, to activate the webcam spying on his roommate on September 19 last year. After seeing Mr Clementi was with another man, Ravi posted a message on Twitter alerting other students.
"Roommate asked for the room till midnight. I went into Molly's room and turned on my webcam. I saw him making out with a dude. Yay," he posted.
Two days later, Ravi attempted to spy on Mr Clementi for a second time. A day after the second spying attempt, Mr Clementi took his own life. Before taking his own life, the young student left a note on his Facebook page stating: "Jumping off the gw bridge sorry."
In the immediate aftermath of the death, Ravi attempted to cover his tracks, prosecutors allege. They say the room-mate deleted his Twitter posts, erased text messages and gave false information to the police. Alongside the bias intimidation and invasion of privacy charges, Ravi faces counts of hindering the investigation and tampering with evidence.
The defendant could face up to ten years in jail if found guilty.
Mr Clementi's parents, who knew about his sexuality, said the indictment showed that their son was the victim of "cold and calculating acts".
In a statement, Joe and Jane Clementi added: "If these facts are true, as they appear to be, then it is important for our criminal justice system to establish clear accountability under law
We are eager to have the process move forward for justice in this case and to reinforce the standards of acceptable conduct in society."
The incident came on the back of a number of suicides involving students reportedly bullied for their sexual orientation.
In the weeks leading up to Mr Clementi's death, two 13-year-olds in Texas and Minnesota and a 15-year-old in Indiana took their own lives. All had being relentlessly teased by peers over their perceived sexuality, according to those who knew them.
A campaign was launched in the aftermath of the deaths in which celebrities and politicians joined gay men and women in recording online messages reassuring young students that the bullying will stop.
President Barack Obama was amongst those who backed the It Gets Better campaign. In his own message, recorded just weeks after Mr Clementi's death, Mr Obama said he was "shocked and saddened" by the suicides of young men bullied over their sexuality.
However commentators have pointed out that the ‘It Gets Better’ campaign is fatally flawed, as long as there is discrimination and homophobia passed down from the highest courts in America denying equality and instigating laws that make it illegal for gays to have the same rights as straight people.
America is the ONLY country in the world that has dividing laws, where in some states its not only legal to be gay, but also there are protections in law against discrimination. Yet in other states it’s perfectly legal for you to be fired from your job, kicked out of your home and denied medical treatment just for being gay.
“This divided country is so fractious that it defies reasonable understanding. It is a nation that is taking four steps backwards for every one step forward” Said a American political studies advisor. “They may have elected a non white person to the office of President, but the white majority have made sure he has little power. As each day passes the divide between right and wrong deepens greatly”
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